Apache KafkavsHiveMQ Community Edition
Two self-hosted Message Broker projects, compared on the numbers selfhost.directory tracks live: score, popularity, release cadence and setup effort.
| Apache Kafka | HiveMQ Community Edition | |
|---|---|---|
| Score | 83/100 | 55/100 |
| Rank in category | #1 of 12 in Message Broker | #10 of 12 in Message Broker |
| GitHub stars | 34 152 | 1 213 |
| Stars, last 30 days | +346 | — |
| Stable releases, 12 months | 0 | 2 |
| Latest release | — | 2026.5 · 27 May 2026 |
| Setup | Advanced | Easy |
| Official Docker image | Yes | Yes |
| License | Apache-2.0 | Apache-2.0 |
| Main language | Java | Java |
Which one should you pick?
Apache Kafka scores 83/100 against 55/100 for HiveMQ Community Edition, so it is the safer default.
HiveMQ Community Edition ships more often: 2 stable releases in the past year, against 0 for Apache Kafka.
If you want the quickest setup, HiveMQ Community Edition is easier to run; Apache Kafka needs more configuration.
Apache Kafka is growing faster right now (+346 stars in 30 days).
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